Mother
by megers67
Summary: Goodbyes are important.


**Mother**

by ~megers67

A young undergraduate by the name of Delbert Doppler sat alone in an otherwise empty hospital room staring at the floor. His hair was a mess and he fought to control his breathing as he absently rubbed his bloody knuckles. "Mother I... I am so sorry."

-

Light travel bag in hand Delbert joined the throng of a dozen or so angry people on the docks. They were yelling at a paling young man in uniform.

"What do you mean it's full?"

"I paid good money to get on this ship!"

"I have a meeting I can't be late for! Let me on!"

Immediately concerned, the young canid approached a middle aged woman with a small basket in hand. "Excuse me ma'am, what's going on?"

The lady looked at him peeved. "Dey says dat dey over booked da trip. Dey be kickin' us off!"

Doppler's eyes widened with alarm. "No! They... they can't!" He pushed his way through the rightfully angry crowd to the man in charge of complaints. "Sir, I NEED to be on this ship! It's an emergency!"

The flustered avian man did his best to maintain composure. He looked exhausted and like he was ready to leave as soon as physically possible. "I'm sorry sir, but we are overbooked. You'll have to take the next ship out of port. For a refund of your boarding pass, speak with the Passenger Relations by-"

"No, you don't understand! My mother is gravely ill and I-" Delbert's desperate explanation was cut off with a wave of the man's feathered hand.

"No exceptions. Captain's orders." The man drew up to his full height in order to assert his authority.

The canine academic was having none of it. His mother was practically on her death bed. He NEEDED to be on this particular ship so he could see her for what could very well be the last time. "Then let me speak to your captain!" His demand was supported by the others around him, insistent that the man explain himself. The poor officer on the dock was quickly losing control of the situation.

"Commander Winston!" A voice barked above them from the ship. The portly captain appeared on deck, his thick snout frowning in annoyance. "I gave you an order to handle this matter!"

"Sir, I'm trying, they just won't-"

"I need to be on this vessel!" Doppler was never this rude, but he was absolutely desperate.

The captain glared at him, his frown deepening. "And who might you be, who thinks so highly of himself?"

He stiffened. Maybe his rudeness just made things worse for him, but he was already this far and he might as well push through. "Delbert David Doppler, sir."

"What business do you have that is so utterly important?" From Doppler's vantage point he had a difficult time reading the captain's face. He knew however that he was anything but amused.

"My mother is dying sir and I need to see her!" He did his best to sound as confident as possible. No easy feat for him.

"Well my apologies, but she won't be going anywhere. Now who else thinks they have a valid excuse?"

Doppler opened and closed his mouth, speechless. Did he just say what he thought he heard? "Now see here! You can't talk to me like that!" He was shaking in rage. To think that he would be turned away so coldly was outrageous!

"I'm finished talking to you BOY. Don't make me call Spaceport Control. I doubt you'd be able to make even the next THREE ships headed to Montressor if I saw fit to." He turned away from the crowd. "Commander? Remove the mooring lines, we're leaving port. To your stations, men! On the double! I want the ship moving five minute ago!"

The people surrounding Doppler erupted angrily at this latest threat, but Doppler tuned them out. No... No he couldn't let this happen. He watched helplessly as gangplank vanished and the ship lifted off the ground. Shaking himself out of his daze, he shoved his way to the nearest ticket booth to book the next passage to Montressor. It wouldn't arrive for two hours. Two hours... His heart fell. Two hours was so long and the trip would be lengthy enough already. Baring his teeth angrily he took the ticket and went straight to the pier where he was to meet the ship. He was determined to wait the full two hours there, unwilling to take any chances. He was going to be on this ship if it was the last thing he did. As time passed, his fury melted into despair. "Please... Mother." He whispered. "Please hang on."

A few hours later, Doppler burst into the hospital room, panting. He saw his family there, crowded by the bedside. His siblings, his father, and a few other relatives all were in various stages of grief. "N-No..." He dropped his travel bag carelessly onto the floor and stumbled to the bed. There, nestled between the pristine white sheets lay the form of his mother. She looked so peaceful, as if she was sleeping soundly. But Doppler knew this wasn't the case. "I-I..." He shook his head in anguish, then suddenly felt a whack on the back of his head so forceful that his glasses almost tumbled onto the bed.

He turned to see his brother Raymond. His blonde hair in disarray and his eyes bloodshot. "Look who finally decided to show up." The man spat out coldly.

"Ray don't..." Delbert heard his sister from somewhere nearby.

"Don't WHAT? Don't get mad that he's late?" He was positively fuming.

"H-How late?"

"A whole damn hour you MUTT!"

That meant he would have been able to make it with time to spare had he been on that first ship out. "L-L-Look Ray I tried, I really did." He had no idea why he was being yelled at. He knew emotions were high, but this wasn't the time. Not for this.

"Well you SHOULD have tried harder! You go to some hot-shot fancy-pants university and suddenly you're more important than anyone else! Well I got NEWS for you! You're not! You need to get your priorities straight! FAMILY comes first!" He approached his smaller brother, growling dangerously.

Before Delbert knew what he was doing and let out a primal, angry growl and socked his brother right on the nose. Raymond staggered back in complete shock and brought his hand to his snout. Bleeding. He was BLEEDING. With his mouth hanging open stupidly like a fish, he stared at Delbert. "I... you." The rest of the family stood there, similarly dumbfounded by the outburst.

The academic stood there panting, blood dripping from his still-clenched fist. He roared at his brother, defending himself for the first time in his life. "GET MY PRIORITIES STRAIGHT?" He shook with rage. "Do you THINK I WANTED to miss this? What kind of person do you think I AM? I would have rented a DAMN ROWBOAT if I thought it would get me here faster!" He advanced on his speechless brother grabbing him by the collar violently and spoke through his bared teeth. "Don't you DARE berate me. There were things out of my control and I got here as fast as I damn well could. You have NO reason to be angry with me. At least YOU got to fucking say goodbye!" He never swore. It was his purely raw emotion that speaking on his behalf. But he wasn't paying much attention to his words. They didn't matter now. All that mattered were the facts. His mother was gone and he wasn't able to say goodbye. He didn't have the closure the others had. He had never felt so alone.

"Delbert..." The soft voice of his sister appeared suddenly close to his ear and he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. After a moment's pause, he let his brother go and shrugged Melissa's hand away before storming out of the room.

Thankful that nobody followed him, he ducked into an empty room for some time to himself. He licked his cut knuckles and sat on the bed. The canid was silent for a long time before he suddenly broke down into violent, choking sobs. He had no idea if his sound carried into the hallway or the surrounding rooms, but he didn't care. He just lost the most important person in his life. Whenever Ray tormented him, he would always go to his mother who would gently soothe and console him as she treated his wounds. She always disciplined the bully for his behavior even though their father didn't give any attention to it. He always took the opportunity to help her be it in the kitchen, or with her aching back, or reading her from his many books. She loved hearing him read, illiterate herself. She was always so proud of the way he used his intellect. She was the one who convinced his father to let him go to university. Originally the man wanted him to stay at home and get a job on the port. His mother had always been there for him, but in her last moments, when she needed him most, he failed her. Utterly and miserably failed her. He continued sobbing until he felt physically ill, and then cried some more. When he couldn't possibly shed a single more tear, he slowly sat up on the bed and stared at the floor. He absently rubbed his bloody knuckles as he struggled to control his breathing. "Mother I... I am so sorry."


End file.
